Thursday 12 April 2012

Lettuce


 

Freckles

 Lettuce is one of the sections in seed catalogues that I find myself poring over, trying to decide just which of those fine looking heads will make it into my neat little rows of green and red frilliness.  I like them all really, from the flimsy floppy butterheads to the stern serious cos and romaines, and all that comes inbetween and off to each side. I like the fact that lettuce can be sown weekly for most of the year and I like starting off a batch of hardier types to sit nicely over the winter. All year production is entirely possible, with cloches or a polytunnel. Lettuce in winter is a crisp, refreshing alternative green to cabbagey kale or parpy sprouts.

I'm sure that lettuce will be an invaluable weekly item in my veg boxes, either sitting pretty as a whole head or turned into a bag of multicoloured, multitextured, multiflavoured leaves. Cutting a whole head frees up space for more salads, but there's something sneakily satisfying about giving a quick trim to a block of lettuce because in a week or so I can go back and cut it again! I do like a plant that gives so much value for money.
 


Hardy winter varieties, first to be picked
 
So far this year I've sown Arctic King and Winter Density first of all, back in the depths of February. Today I picked the first of these leaves for some salad bags. Coming up fast behind them are Webbs Wonderful, a faithful relic from last year; Kriska, a pretty light green frilly leaf, and Little Gem, which needs little introduction. For some splashes of colour I have Freckles, which I've long wanted to try and is looking as good as its name; Marvel of Four Seasons, a fine red leaved butterhead; Concorde, a beautiful oakleaf in a bronzy red and a Provencal Mix which includes corn salad, sorrel and chervil  for a little bit of piquancy.


  

Marvel of Four Seasons and Freckles in the polytunnel

 I don't have a recipe as such, I just mix, wash and pack the leaves available on the day. For a surprise element there will shortly be olive leaved rocket added to mixed leaves, or flat leaved parsley, coriander, baby chard and spinach.  Winter salads will be perked up with further spicy oriental greens, mizuna, mibuna and a touch of mustard to liven up the colder months.


But for now it's a case of regular sowings followed by regular planting out, wither in the polytunnel or under fleece outdoors - just to be on the safe side. I'm looking forward to pulling off the covers after the last frosts to reveal my slightly wonky rows of beautiful salads.

  

 




Sunday 1 April 2012

April Fool........?

As of today, April 1st, I am officially self employed as a market gardener growing vegetables and cut flowers on around an acre of rented land. I've worked on part of the land for just over a year, managing a staff of one (myself) and trying to get the best results from the resources available. So it seems like an elaborate April Fool's trick I'm playing on myself. I can honestly say I've never wanted to have my own business, not full time and not as my sole source of income. I'm not the kind of person who takes big risks or has the drive to be successful at any cost. I don't have an Apprentice-style speech prepared to impress people. I'm humble, modest and extremely self-deprecating. I like working independently but I also like the safety net of having someone else in ultimate charge - as long as our ideas mesh of course. And it goes without saying that I like a regular wage and paid time off!

However, as I am discovering as I go through life, circumstances force decisions which in turn create consequences. Sometimes when my back is turned the collective threads of fate, destiny and decisions made have knitted together to pull me onto a new path. I've found myself on several new paths over the last few years, so what's the harm in willingly walking along one more.

I have the enthusiasm - or is it obsessiveness - but need the finesse. I know I can work hard. I have some knowledge and some skills but need the memory and intuitiveness for sucessful growing. I need to refine myself from being a bumbler who sometimes gets a lucky outcome to...well...what is the alternative to being a bumbler? To grow from an amateur into a professional. To be brave and to be bold. It's time to stop joking around.